The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) is one of the oldest, largest, and most successful dog training and testing organizations in North America.GUN DOG Spotlight: The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association continues to grow in membership and popularity (July 2020)
Accessed June 8, 2021. Founded in 1969, the organization was started in Goodwood,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada by a group of pudelpointer and griffon enthusiasts.The History of NAVHDA
(1993) by John Kegel. Also describes the tests in detail. Accessed May 28, 2007. NAVHDA is a nonprofit whose purpose is defined as "to foster, promote, and improve the versatile hunting dog breeds in North America; to conserve game by using well trained reliable hunting dogs before and after the shot; and to aid in the prevention of cruelty to animals by discouraging nonselective and uncontrolled breeding, which produces unwanted and uncared for dogs."
Accessed June 8, 2021. The group has 95 local chapters with 83 in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and 12 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, which offer regular training and testing programs.NAVHDA: List of Chapters and Contact Info
Accessed June 8, 2021.Gun Dog Stories: Understanding NAVHDA: Helping To Train More Than Just Your Bird Dog (April 2021)
Accessed June 8, 2021. The organization describes its work as a 1999 complement to the activities of sporting dog

breed club Breed clubs are Voluntary association, associations or Club (organization), clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of anima ...

s and

field trial A field trial is a competitive event for gundogs. Field trials are conducted for pointing dogs and setters, retrievers and spaniels, with each assessing the different types various working traits. In the United States, field trials are also co ...

organizations, "created to supplement the activities of those clubs by providing a proven, standard method of evaluating the performance of all versatile hunting dogs, consistent with North American hunting practices, regardless of breed." In addition to well-known

gundog Gun dogs, or bird dogs, are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually quail, dove, or duck. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. Types ...

s such as the

German Shorthaired Pointer The German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) is a medium to large sized breed of pointing dog developed in the 19th century in Germany for hunting. A versatile hunting breed, being an all-purpose gun dog suitable for both land and water, they are strea ...

, NAVHDA recognizes over 30 different breeds of dogs which possess the versatility to hunt, point, and retrieve game. Of importance, the organization's emphasis on versatile hunting dogs means it recognizes and tests breeds for their natural and field abilities along with physical attributes. As such, continental hunting breeds like the Český Fousek are tested and registered even though are not recognized by the AKC. NAVHDA asserts that "the versatile breeds, as we know them today, are products of Europe. No distinctive versatile hunting breed has been developed in North America."Recognized Versatile Hunting Dog Breeds
Accessed June 8, 2021.What Is a Versatile Hunting Dog?
Accessed June 8, 2021.

Recognized Versatile Hunting Dog Breeds

The NAVHDA defines versatility as "the dog that is bred and trained to dependably hunt and point game, to retrieve on both land and water, and to track wounded game on both land and water." The organization currently recognizes over 30 different breeds of versatile hunting dogs.The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association – A Look at NAVHDA
Accessed June 8, 2021. There are several breeds of versatile dogs common in continental Europe, and with four exceptions, all were developed during the last decades of the 19th century. The four exceptions are much older breeds that provided a base for some of the others. These are the Weimaraner, the Vizsla, the Brittany, and its German cousin, the Small Munsterlander. The tracking hound, pointer and waterpudel were the basic breeding stocks most widely used to develop the short and wirehaired groups. The longhaired group evolved from the Small Munsterlander and flat-coated retriever. * Blue Picardy Spaniel (BP) *

Bracco Italiano The Bracco Italiano is an Italian breed of pointing dog. History The first dog registered by the Kennel Club Italiano, founded in 1882, was a Bracco Italiano. Early in 1949 a breed standard was approved by the Ente Nazionale della Cinofi ...

(BI) *

Braque Francais Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

(BF) *

Braque d'Auvergne The Braque d'Auvergne is a breed of dog originating in the mountain area of Cantal, in the historic Auvergne province in the mid-south of France. It is a pointer and versatile gundog. The breed descends from ancient regional types of hunting do ...

(BA) *

Braque du Bourbonnais The Braque du Bourbonnais is a breed of gundog, of rustic appearance, sometimes born with a short tail, with a coat ticked with liver, fawn, or white History Origins It had been described for the first time during the Renaissance (Natural ...

(BB) * Braque St. Germain (BG) * Brittany Spaniel (BS) * Perdiguero de Burgos (PB) * Český Fousek (CF) * Drentsche Patrijshond (DP) *

English Setter The English Setter is a medium-size breed of dog. It is part of the setter group, which includes the red Irish Setters, Irish Red and White Setters, and black-and-tan Gordon Setters. The mainly white body coat is of medium length with long si ...

(ES) *

French Spaniel The French Spaniel (Epagneul Français) is a breed of dog of the Spaniel-like setter. It was developed in France and Canada as a hunting dog, descended from dogs of the 14th century. Popular with royalty during the Middle Ages, it nearly became ...

(FP) * German Longhaired Pointer (GL) *

(GS) *

German Wirehaired Pointer The German Wirehaired Pointer is a medium to large-sized griffon type breed of dog developed in the 19th century in Germany for versatile hunting. It became a leading gun dog in Germany in the later part of the 20th century. It is the result of ...

(GW) *

Gordon Setter The Gordon Setter is a large breed of dog, a member of the setter family that also includes both the better-known Irish Setter and the English Setter. Setter breeds are classified as members of either the Sporting or Gundog Group depending ...

(GO) * Irish Red & White Setter (IR) *

Irish Setter The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...

(IS) * Large Munsterlander (LM) * Picardy Spaniel (PS) * Pointer (PT) *

Portuguese Pointer A Portuguese Pointer, ( pt, Perdigueiro Português) is a breed of dog developed as a gun dog. It is one of several pointing breeds and is mainly used in red-legged partridge hunting. History The Portuguese Pointer (''perdigueiro Português' ...

(PO) * Pudelpointer (PP) * Slovakian Wirehaired Pointer (SH) * Small Munsterlander (SM) * Spinone (SP) * Stichelhaar (ST) *

Vizsla The Vizsla () is a dog breed from Hungary and belongs to the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) group 7 (Pointing Dogs), the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) group 1 (Sporting group), and the American Kennel Club (Sporting group). The H ...

(VI) *

Weimaraner The Weimaraner ( ) is a large dog that was originally bred as a hunting dog in the early 19th century. Early Weimaraners were used by royalty for hunting large game such as boar, bear and deer. As the popularity of large game hunting began to ...

(WM) *

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (also called the Korthals Griffon and the Griffon d'arrêt à poil dur Korthals in France and Quebec) is a breed of dog used in hunting as a gundog. It is sometimes considered to be Dutch in ancestry, due to t ...

(GR) * Wirehaired Vizsla (WV)

References

External links

* {{Gundogs Hunting dogs